Welcome to the cool Saunablogger blog, stories from saunas around the world, from Finnish smoke saunas to luxury spa saunas. Not to mention hotel saunas! The Saunablogger has explored saunas in 44 countries, in a total of 220 saunas. You can also click on the map below to see where in the world they took place.
The Saunablogger articles appeared originally in the Blogspot Planetskier series, at TGR posts, or at the Relaa website. See also the articles about skiing, caving, urban exploration, climbing, cycling, flying, and swimming.
All sauna-related articles:
| Award-winning Kuusijärvi smoke saunas Today's swim was at Kuusijärvi, a small lake and recreation area in Vantaa. I was in Vantaa anyway so it was a natural choice. And what a choice! Such a wonderful, quiet, dark smoke sauna experience, seamlessly blended in the nature. No wonder the next day the saunas were awarded the Finlandia architecture award. Full story Alternate link October 2026, Kuusijärvi, Vantaa, Finland Sauna (Smoke); Swimming (Water, Outdoor, Waterbody-Lake, Beach) | |
| Järfällabadet Järfälla and Järfällabadet. A swimming pool run again by Medley. A massive facility, 50-meter pool with ten tracks, plus kiddie pools, water slides, etc. Full story Alternate link October 2026, Medley Järfällabadet, Järfälla, Sweden Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Riga spas I had a few days in Riga, and visited both my hotel spa, ESPA Riga (at the Radisson Riga Conference & Spa), Welton SPA Centrum, and the Welton SPA Riverside. The ESPA and Riverside both were wonderful, the former being at the top of the hotel and the latter at the bottom. Both had a selection of nice saunas and pools. Full story Alternate link September 2026, Radisson Blu Latvija Conference & Spa Hotel, Riga, Latvia; Welton SPA Centrum, Riga, Latvia; Welton SPA Riverside, Riga, Latvia Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Steam); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Voco Kista Swims I spent a week in Kista in meetings, and tried out a new hotel that I've never been to (!) Voco Stockholm Kista is a nice hotel, rooms are spacious, and most importantly, there was a spa. I used every day for five days, and only on the last day after checking out somewhere else. Full story Alternate link September 2026, Voco Stockholm Kista, Stockholm, Sweden Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Steam) | |
| Kruunupuisto beach sauna Kruunupuisto is a hotel and a spa in the classic Finnish lakeside area of Punkaharju. The hotel has a spa with easy and affordable access. They also have a beach with free access. However, until now I had not realized they also had a spectacular sauna by the beach. Sadly, it has been available for rent for 320 euros, but has this year become available on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings for a mere 5€ per person. Full story Alternate link August 2026, Kruunupuiston uimaranta, Punkaharju, Finland Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Lake, Beach) | |
| Kasnäs spa swim It was a long drive, two hours from the office/home. But I found a small fishing village with a great spa, access was affordable (just 12€), they had nice outdoor pools shielded from the wind by glass, a 25-meter indoor pool, a good, dark-wood-colored sauna, a steam room, and even an infrared sauna (though with additional cost). Full story Alternate link August 2026, Kasnäs bad, Kasnäs, Finland Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Steam) | |
| Naisvuoren uimahalli (Swimming hall of the Women's Mountain) After another sweaty cave exploration, I had to get the sweat off. I was returning from Punkaharja back home to Kauniainen, but splitting the drive to two days by stopping for the night in Mikkeli. I always love the underground swimming halls (like those in Itäkeskus or Tampere), so now it was time for another one: the Naisvuoren uimahalli in Mikkeli. Deep inside the rocky hill in the middle of the city, home to gyms, swimming hall, and WWII-era command centers. Interesting place, must be like Swiss cheese inside that hill! Full story Alternate link August 2026, Naisvuoren uimahalli, Mikkeli, Finland Swimming (Water, Indoor, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal); Urban-Exploration (Bunkers) | |
| Blissful swim above Stockholm rooftops Wow, had a hard day demoing for work, but this find right in the center of Stockholm was so relaxing: the Selma City Spa, on the roof of the Clarion Hotel Sign by the main train station was something else. A very nice sauna, relaxation rooms, a small cafeteria, and then the pool outside on the roof. And you could order drinks directly to the pool. Full story Alternate link August 2026, Selma City Spa, Stockholm, Sweden Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool) | |
| Refurbished Tuusula Swimming Hall The Tuusula swimming hall has been in renovations for a long time, a year? Now at the start of the summer 2026 it re-opened. Of course I had to visit! Full story Alternate link July 2026, Tuusulan Uimahalli, Hyrylä, Tuusula, Finland Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Valkeakoski swimming hall Valkeakoski. I knew this place mostly for the paper mill, but it is small city. And has a swimming hall! Since I was nearby, I wanted to try it. Full story Alternate link June 2026, Valkeakosken uimahalli, Valkeakoski, Finland Swimming (Waterbody-Pool, Water, Indoor); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Vilnius Grand Resort Spas I tried to do my trip to Lithuania in a day, but the drives and the caves and skiing took too much time to really do it, so I opted for a 24 hour trip instead. I need a place to stay for the night, and the Vilnius Grand Resort seemed to fit the bill: affordable price (100€) per night, not too far from the airport, had a spa, and most importantly, the spa was open late into the night so I wouldn't miss when coming back from my tour. Full story Alternate link June 2026, Vilnius Grand Resort, Vilnius, Lithuania Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Steam) | |
| Aulanko swim and (man-made) bear cave Another after-work evening activity: visiting Aulanko's spa (hosted by the Scandic hotel Aulanko). This is a historic spa location, the old spa building is still there but today's spa visits are in the new fancy building. I had also heard about "bear cave" in the adjoining Aulanko nature park. Full story Alternate link May 2026, Kylpylä Scandic Aulanko, Aulanko, Hämeenlinna, Finland; Karhuluola, Aulanko, Hämeenlinna, Finland Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water); Sauna (Normal, Infrared, Steam); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Granite, Man-Made); Urban-Exploration (Other) | |
| Bath Baths Two spas, separated by one block and two thousand years. One you can't swim in because it is dangerous, and one you can swim in. If you are a guest at the hotel, that is. Full story Alternate link May 2026, Roman Baths, Bath, United Kingdom; The Gainsborough Bath Spa, Bath, United Kingdom Swimming (None); Urban-Exploration (Ruins, Historic); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Steam, Infrared) | |
| Kruunupuisto swims I'm at a health rehab this week, in chose the place so that I could enjoy the nature at the same time. I'm in Hotel Kruunupuisto, on the national landscape of Punkaharju where thin sandy ridges cross lakes. The Finnish "road of the century" runs along the ridges, lined up with pine trees and the water. Wonderful place. I also tested the hotel spa, the hotel beach, and biked around the the area. Full story Alternate link May 2026, Kruunupuisto, Punkaharju, Finland; Kruunupuiston uimaranta, Punkaharju, Finland; Vuosisadan tie, Punkaharju, Finland Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Infrared); Swimming (Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Lake); Biking (Bike-Road, Outdoor, Track-Road) | |
| Savonlinna caves & swims I was returning from my trip to Punkaharju and again wanted to stop by interesting places on this four-hour drive. I picked two interesting caves south of Savonlinna, and a swim at Savonlinna's "PikkuSaimaa" swimming pool. Right by the lake, and where you can see Olavinlinna (Olavi's castle). Overall a very nice tour, even if the caves turned out to be mostly shelter caves not proper tunnels under the rock. Full story Alternate link May 2026, Haukkavuoren Lippaluola, Savonlinna, Finland; Haukkavuoren Halkeamaluola, Savonlinna, Finland; Myllylahden Linnalouhen Iso Lippaluola, Savonlinna, Finland; Myllylahden Linnalouhen Kolmioluola, Savonlinna, Finland; Savonlinnan uimahalli PikkuSaimaa, Savonlinna, Finland Caving (Basic, Rock, Morphology-Crack, Morphology-Erosion, Surveying); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal) | |
| Skiing, Caves, and Swimming on one trip I managed a Mother's Day trip with a visit to see my mom, but also to ski a closed ski hill, hike to see a cave, and swim at a new swimming hall. Full story Alternate link May 2026, Kokonniemen hiihtokeskus, Porvoo, Finland; Kolisevan Pirunpesä, Iitti, Finland; Kuusankosken uimahalli, Kuusankoski, Finland Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Caving (Basic, Rock, Rock-Unknown, Morphology-Crack, Morphology-Erosion); Swimming (Water, Waterbody-Pool, Indoor); Sauna (Normal) | |
This is the 1th set of articles. The next sets are set 2, set 3, set 4, set 5, set 6, set 7, set 8, set 9, set 10, set 11, set 12, set 13, set 14, set 15, set 16, and set 17.